The 6-Miler

8February2008

Maybe they have a commuter division

Posted by todd under: Riding in the Bluegrass.

While strolling the links today I came upon Christopher Rowe’s site and this poster for an upcoming event here in the Bluegrass.

Sounds like fun, and I think the poster is nice.

How much fun would it be to show up at one of these riding an Electra Townie in long pants, bicycle-toe sneakers, an electric-yellow rain jacket, and a Bell Metro helmet complete with rear-view mirror and a flashing light clipped on the back?

7February2008

A salute to Captain Bike

Posted by todd under: Cycling news; Words from cycling sages.

[UPDATED and BUMPED: Rivendell Bicycles has posted a great, long Q&A with Sheldon Brown from its December 01-January 02 issue.]

By now, if you’re plugged in to the online cycling community, you know that Sheldon Brown, one of the best-read and most-respected voices of cycling online, died Sunday.

“I have always loved riding bicycles, especially for the feeling of freedom and self-sufficiency that they give.”
– Sheldon Brown, 1944-2008

Like many avid cyclists who like to (1) tinker with their bikes and (2) surf the Web, I e-mailed Sheldon about several projects over the years, and got prompt, gracious responses each time.

I will fondly remember him for letting me know the historic significance of the Fuji S-10-S, which I was debating about fixing up. I often refer to his Web site, a virtual bicycling encyclopedia, and I have referenced it many times on this site. The page he wrote about his bikes says a lot about his personality and expertise.

As I thought about Sheldon and his influence, I recalled two projects that a non-bike-person would probably find bizarre, or perhaps a little alarming. I am no great wrench, but his clear writing and obvious trustworthiness persuaded me to try these medieval-sounding procedures:

• I removed a cottered crank from a Peugot under the following advice from Sheldon (some of my favorite lines from his writing): “You need a short length of pipe, long enough to go from the underside of the crank to the floor. Wedge it in position so that the non-threaded end of the cotter can fit inside of it. The pipe will transmit the impact of the hammer to the floor, so as not to damage the bearing cups or axle cones. I prefer a claw hammer to a ball peen. Claw hammers are designed to drive nails without bending them, and that is very similar to what you want to do to a cotter. Most people are scared to hit a bicycle with a hammer, and are afraid they will miss if they swing too hard. They go “tappy-tappy-tap”, nothing happens, then they try hitting a bit harder, then harder still, until the end of the cotter is mushroomed over or bends. If you are going to hammer a cotter, pretend that you are going to try to smash the crank right off the axle. Hold the hammer by the end of the handle, and give it everything you’ve got! …” Well, Sheldon, I whaled away, and it worked! Thanks!
•  I bent the frame of an ancient Nishiki in order to make a wider-axled wheel fit on it. Sheldon again: “Although it seems fairly alarming to deliberately bend your frame, it is really not that cataclismic an operation …” and: “There are a number of ways to do spread a frame. Probably the easiest way is to use a lever. A piece of 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 lumber, roughly 5-6 feet long works well for this …” Suffice it to say that my operation involved a chair, a piece of lumber as he described, a ruler, and a good deal of trepidation. And you know what, Sheldon? This worked as well!

Many great RIPs to Sheldon have popped up online. Here are a few links:

• Grant Peterson at Rivendell Bicycle works: “Thousands of words have been written about it by now. It should be hundreds of thousands …”
• Nice overview of his career from Wired Blog Network.
• The Internet Bobs come through as usual with articulate and thoughtful comments and tributes: 1, 2.
• Best wishes from the commuters at Bike Forums.
• Dave Moulton’s tribute: “You can measure a person’s greatness by the number of lives they touch; Sheldon Brown surely touched many lives.”
• Who knows how many how many guys across the country can identify with this statement: “From across the country, Sheldon helped me acquire parts for my first serious bicycle project …”
• More from guys I like to read: Jason Nunemaker | Kent Peterson
• Here’s another roundup.

6February2008

Conglomerate acquires Cannondale

Posted by todd under: Cycling news.

Interesting tidbit from Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal (emphasis mine):

“Canadian consumer products company Dorel Industries Ltd. said it agreed to acquire Cannondale Bicycle Corp., a maker of high-end bicycles, for $190 million to $200 million, subject to Cannondale’s earnings for the year ending June 30. The purchase also includes Sugoi Performance Apparel. Dorel said the acquisition, which is being financed through debt, will immediately boost its earnings. Dorel already makes bicycles through its Pacific Cycle division, whose brands include Schwinn and GT. Dorel said that after the acquisition, its recreational/leisure segment will be split into two operating divisions. The new Cannondale Sports Group will focus on brands sold through independent dealers. Pacific Cycle will become a stand-alone division focused on the mass-merchant channel.”

5February2008

Finishing the natural turn

Posted by todd under: Words from cycling sages.

“When the turn is completed, you will still be leaning over in the direction of the turn, and you would ride a circle without some other corrective action on your part. You get back on the straight course by steering further into the curve than the amount of lean demands to maintain your balance. This puts your mass center back right above the bike or even further over, allowing you to resume the slightly curving course with which you approximate the straight line … Unconsciously, you probably learned to to this when you were a kid, but never realized that you were doing all this.”

– Rob Van der Plaas, The Bicycle Touring Manual, pages 129-130

2February2008

Encouraging development in the saga of the O2 3Flow Performance Series pants

Posted by todd under: Raingear; Reviews.

Last month I wrote a glowing review of the O2 3Flow Performance Series rain pants, only to have them leak — somewhere around the right knee, getting the bottom of my right leg wet — on a few rides days later.

Willing to give the manufacturer, Rainshield, a chance to stand by its product, I sent an e-mail to company president Adam Ziskin, which you can read here.

Since I don’t have Ziskin’s permission to reprint his e-mail verbatim, I will not quote from it directly. He asked for more information about the leak, and asked whether I had tried waterproofing the area in question myself.

He also said he did not want to make a customer unhappy over a small issue, and assured me that he supports the shop where I bought the pants, as well as its customers.

Here is what I sent in reply yesterday:

Mr. Ziskin, thanks for the gracious response. I did some checking after receiving your e-mail, and here is what I found out:

It turns out I overestimated how long I have owned the pants. I checked with Pedal the Planet, and the purchase date is May 1, 2006.

The only information I could find on the tag that might help you says “LT 07-05.” These are the black pants with the O2 logo on the left leg; a back zipper pocket and a smaller velcroed front pocket; and articulated legs with zippers at the bottoms.

There are no tears of any kind visible on the pants. They have never been through the washing machine, and they have spent no extended time in sunlight. In fact, the only time I wear them is during a half-hour bike commute, from home to work, and then from work to home.

As I prefer to wear your lighter-weight pants when it is warm or hot, the 3Flow pants have seen relatively little use and show virtually no sign of wear.

I offer this information in the spirit of continuing the dialogue about what might be done to rectify the situation. As I own your 3Flow jacket and the Cycling Series jacket and matching pants, all of which are excellent products that I recommend heartily, I know that my pants’ leaking after fairly light use does not meet your company’s standards.

Thanks again for your consideration!

To Mr. Ziskin’s credit, he responded yesterday with an offer to replace the pants, asking me the size and writing that he would send some right away.

So far, I am impressed. I will let you know the end of the story.

2February2008

The natural turn

Posted by todd under: Words from cycling sages.

“Under normal circumstances, the rider knows well ahead where to turn off, and there is enough room to follow a generously wide curve. This is the situation of the natural turn. It makes use of the lean that results from normal straight path steering corrections. To turn to the right naturally, you simply wait until the bike is leaning over that way, while the left turn is initiated when the bike is leaning to the left. Instead of turning the handlebars to that same side, as would be done to get back in balance to ride straight, you just leave the handlebars alone for a while. This causes the bike to lean over further and further in the direction of the turn. Only when the lean is quite significant do you steer in the same direction, but not as abruptly as you would do to get back up straight. Instead, you fine-tune the ratio of lean and steering deflection to ride the curve out.”

– The Bicycle Touring Manual by Rob Van der Plaas, Page 129

31January2008

Check out the Birias

Posted by todd under: Reviews.

I added Biria to the page on 2008 commuting bikes. Their “Easy Boarding” frame is pretty interesting. (Hat tip to Zorba over at the Bike Forums commuting forum for suggesting Biria.)

30January2008

Trouble with O2 3Flow Performance Series rain pants

Posted by todd under: Raingear; Reviews.

Those of you who read my previous good review of the 3Flow Performance Series rain pants will be interested in this update: The pants have been failing me recently.

I am giving the company a chance to respond properly, and my continuing recommendation of the pants depends on their response.

Below I am reprinting the e-mail I just sent to Adam Ziskin, owner of Rainshield, which manufactures the pants.

I will let you know when I get a reply.

Dear Mr. Ziskin:

I have owned a pair of your 3Flow Performance Series rain pants for about two years. (I also own the 3Flow jacket, and the Cycling Series jacket and pants.)

I wear the pants as needed, over my work clothes, during my daily bicycle commute of 3 miles each way. They did their job well, until recently.

During several recent rides to work in rain, the pants leaked water through the right leg. My pants were wet behind the knee and down the calf.

For rain pants from a company as reputable as yours, with the relatively light use my pants have gotten, this might be considered less-than-desirable performance, and I am wondering what remedy RainShield might offer.

Thanks for considering my correspondence.

30January2008

Surprised by purple steel: The story of a Bridgestone XO-1, Part 2

Posted by todd under: Bridgestone XO-1; My bikes.

[Read part 1 of this story]

Bush and I talked it over, and he agreed to sell me the XO-1 frame AND build it up for me, for some ridiculously low price — I remember it being less than $300.

It would be built of parts salvaged from two previous commuting bikes — an early-1980s Bianchi Grizzly mountain bike that died of a cracked chainstay, and a Fuji S-10-S that perished in a crash.

Bush brought the XO-1 frame into the shop, and we put my wheels on it to make sure there would be enough clearance for the tires I had.

There was, barely. And sure enough, it was the 59 cm size. It would be a perfect fit.

Here’s the history of the parts:

From the Bianchi Grizzly:

• Wheels
• Cassette
• Crankset, pedals and toe clips

From the S-10-S:

• Brake levers and brakes
• Stem
• Saddle
• Rear derailer
• Bar-end shifters
• Chain
• Deflector

From Bush:

• Mustache handlebars
• Front derailer

********

Bush had me over to see how the build-up was going.

Three bikes (including mine) were under construction on the hardwood floor of his apartment, with tools and parts around them. He showed me his copy of the 1992 Bridgestone catalog.

It was clear then, as it is clear now, that he was doing a beautiful job. For example, I would find that not only were the shifting and braking tuned just about perfectly, but the cables were neatly trimmed to the right length — not too long — and capped.

He must have gotten tired of me saying thanks.

Nevertheless, I’ll say it again:

Thanks, Bush, for your generosity and attention to detail.

********

The mustache bars took some getting used to, and I raised the stem and adjusted the angle a little. But that was about all the bike needed from me.

Now, my XO-1 reminds me of past rides on well-used, well-loved bikes.

When I ride it, I think about Bush’s craftsmanship. I enjoy running a piece of cycling history across rutted trails and city streets.

It is a constant source of simple pleasure.

Hey, Bush — did I remember to say thanks?

26January2008

‘Always in disequilibrium’

Posted by todd under: Words from cycling sages.

“Clearly, both riding a straight line and staying upright with the bike are merely illusions. In reality, the bike is always in disequilibrium, following a more or less curved track. The combination of bike with rider leans alternately one way and the other. At higher speeds the curves are longer and gentler, while the amount of lean can be perceptible; at lower speeds the curves are shorter and sharper, with less pronounced lean angles for any given deviation.”

– Rob Van der Plaas, The Bicycle Touring Manual, page 129